Of Bells and Woods
by bookworm4792
Summary: Katie and Oliver are best friends, but what's the one secret that she can't tell him? KB/OW Rating may change.
1. Chapter 1

The Bells and the Woods had been neighbors for quite some time, and good friends since before that. It was only natural that their children be playfellows since birth. Seeing as they were both only children, Oliver Wood, who was three years older than Katie Bell, had assumed the role of older brother. They spent many afternoons fantasizing about Hogwarts (Katie resented the fact that Oliver would go before her), pulling pranks on their parents (who always acted surprised), and most importantly, flying on their toy broomsticks.

Both the Bells and the Woods agreed that five was a good age to allow their children's feet to leave the ground, but Oliver secretly gave Katie rides whenever he could. So when it came time for her to ride herself, she was not completely unfamiliar with a broomstick. On her fifth birthday, she ran outside with Oliver at the first chance she had, not listening to her parents mentioning that they'd be watching from the kitchen window.

She placed the broom between her legs, and then she realized she hadn't the foggiest idea what to do next. Oliver always seemed to just _go_.

"I'm right here," Oliver assured her, and he grabbed the tail end of her broomstick.

"Ollie, don't let go," Katie said. The confidence she had when she first opened her birthday present seemed to have been left behind with the wrappings.

"I won't let go 'til you're ready Katie. So do you have hands gripped tight?"

She was holding on for dear life, and she had yet to leave the ground.

"Yes."

"Good. Now kick off like I've showed you."

Katie held her breath, closed her eyes, and kicked. At first, she thought nothing had happened. But with a gasp, she opened her eyes and realized her feet were no longer touching solid ground. She hovered in one place because of Oliver's steady hand keeping her balanced.

"Let go!" she giggled, and she leaned forward to zoom off before Oliver had the chance to actually do so. He held on anyways, but soon he was struggling to keep pace with her accelerations.

"Are you sure?" he panted.

"Yes," she replied. "Now let go!"

And then she was free. She flew around in zig-zags, circles, loops, rarely straight lines. Then she aimed right towards Oliver, when she came to the horrible realization that she didn't know how to stop.

Oliver's eyes grew wide when he realized the same thing.

At the last second, she got over her initial shock and swerved, missing him by centimeters. Oliver's hair stood on end from her passing, but then he gathered his senses.

"Pull back on the handle!" he shouted. "The broom will sense you want to stop, and you can dismount!"

Oliver clenched his fists as he waited for Katie to tug her hands back. She floated gently to the ground, but broke into a run towards him once her feet made contact.

"I'm so sorry Ollie! I'll never be a good Quidditch player," she said remorsefully.

"Nah, I don't believe that," he said, and she beamed. "It was your first time on a broom, and you already know how to scare your opponents silly. Girls AND boys."

"Good, 'cause that was a lot of fun. Wanna race?"

"You're on."

And with that challenge in place, they both began doing laps around the Bells' yard.

**A/N: Hey guys, this is my first fic. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!**


	2. Chapter 2

The first week of September had been a lonely one.

Oliver had started his first year at Hogwarts, and Katie was home all alone. Well, not completely alone. She still had her parents and Mr. and Mrs. Wood, but it wasn't the same as having a mate.

Mr. and Mrs. Bell had let the Woods take Katie to Platform 9 ¾ to see Oliver off. They were both a bit nervous when they were told that they needed to run through a brick wall to get onto the platform, but Oliver grabbed Katie's hand, giving them both the confidence to make it across.

Students and family members were all milling about in front of the scarlet train. It was all quite hectic, and Katie was in awe that she and Oliver were now a part of this commotion.

Oliver's parents each gave him one last hug and kiss, and discreetly began to drift away, so the two children could talk.

"Ollie," Katie whispered. "You better not forget about me."

"Of course not Katie," he replied, giving her a strange look. "How could I forget about my best mate? I'll write to you every week. And I'll be home for the holidays."

"By then, I'll have practiced enough to get a quaffle past you. Get ready!"

"Oh I will. First years aren't even allowed broomsticks. I can't imagine how good you're going to get while I'm at Hogwarts sitting around on my arse."

"Ollie! That's a rude word!" Katie reprimanded. He laughed, but continued what he was saying.

"I fully expect both of us to make the house team in a few years."

"What house?"

"Whatever house we're both in, of course."

By this point, Oliver's parents had wandered back, and suggested he got his luggage on the train before it left without him. Oliver threw his arms around Katie awkwardly, then made mad dash to join the other first years. He looked back at least five times to smile at Katie before he boarded.

Oliver found a compartment with a seat by the window just as the train whistled. Katie waved and yelled, "Goodbye Oliver!" even though he couldn't hear her. And with that, the Hogwarts Express separated the two friends, and the Woods directed the downtrodden eight year old back to King's Cross.

Now, Katie was looking at her first owl from Oliver.

_Dear Katie,_

_I'm writing this on my first night at Hogwarts, hoping it will get to you as soon as possible. After being on the train all day, all us first years were rounded up by this giant named Hagrid. We got to go up to the castle by boat. It's HUGE. The other students somehow got there before us in this room called the Great Hall (where we all eat), and I'm not sure if it has a ceiling because I could see the sky as clearly as when we go out to catch fireflies. Some of the older kids said it was enchanted._

_I was sorted into Gryffindor, just like my dad! If the Sorting Hat thinks I'm brave of heart, wait 'til he meets you. Plus we're loyal to each other, so I think you're as good as Gryffindor material._

_The food's really good here (don't tell my mum, she'll be heartbroken that I like someone else's cooking). And there are ghosts everywhere. One can take off his head! Nearly. Well, now I' knackered, but be sure to write back soon!_

_Miss you already,_

_Oliver_

She pestered her mother for a quill and spelling lessons, but soon enough she had written her reply.

_Dear Oliver,_

_Hogwarts sounds great. It's lonely here without you. Mum and Dad says another Wizarding family has moved into the neighborhood with a girl my age, but I bet she doesn't even play Quidditch. Is Hagrid a real giant? And how does a ghost take off his head? (Nearly). Miss you lots._

_Katie_

**A/N Please review! I'll be following the timeline of the books, but I'll get to the good stuff quickly, I promise!**


	3. Chapter 3

Oliver was surprised to find that he was resentful of Katie's new friend. He knew it wasn't fair to be jealous of someone else who took up Katie's time; he had gone off and made other friends at Hogwarts. But he made sure to always remember that Katie was his best mate, no matter who he met.

He didn't expect that he would be the one that needed remembering.

Katie always wrote to him, so it wasn't until the summer holidays that he realized that he had been…replaced.

She greeted him at King's Cross with his parents, and he gave her a big bear hug as soon as he got off the Hogwarts Express.

The first words out of his mouth were, "Can Katie come over for dinner?"

"No hello?" Mr. Wood inquired.

"Hi Dad. Hi Mum. Can Katie come over for dinner?" Oliver asked again hopefully.

Katie looked uncomfortable. "Err…" she said.

"What is it?" Oliver asked, turning to her.

"I promised Leanne I would sleep over her house tonight," she replied, not meeting his eyes.

Leanne was the girl of the wizarding family that had moved into their neighborhood. Oliver remembered her from Katie's letters, but Oliver had assumed that he would take priority now that he was back from school.

"You have all summer to see Katie, Oliver dear," Mrs. Wood said to break the silence that had fallen.

"Right," Oliver said.

On the car ride home, Oliver told his parents and Katie of his last days at Hogwarts, but he and Katie looked out different car windows as he did so. The Woods silently noticed that their son lacked the vivacity that he had when he first bounded off the train.

At dinner, Oliver poked at his vegetables moodily, while imagining that Katie and Leanne were braiding each other's hair, or whatever it was that girls did.

When his parents asked him about Quidditch, he spoke animatedly, only to remember Katie was having fun without him, and returned to silence.

He went up to his room without pudding, and his parents exchanged a look, knowing something was seriously wrong.

Oliver glanced out his window, and noticed the lights were on upstairs in the house across the street. Two girls were visible in the neighboring window. He moved to shut the blinds, but then one of the figures began waving furiously. It was then Oliver realized that the two girls must have been Katie and Leanne.

The second figure, Leanne, began waving too, and Katie pressed a piece of parchment to the panes. Oliver had to squint to read it, but it said it big, bold letters: **COME OVER.**

He had never zoomed for a quaffle as fast as he ran down the stairs.

"I'm visiting the neighbors. Love you, bye!" he yelled as he flung open the front door.

"Alright dear," Mrs. Wood replied, but the door had already swung shut. She smiled over at Mr. Wood, who was reading the newspaper, and she returned to her dishwashing.

Oliver knocked on the front door of what he assumed to be Leanne's house, and waited.

"You must be Oliver," a cheery woman answered.

He nodded shyly, and she gestured to the staircase.

"Ollie!" Katie shrieked from the top of it, and bounced down towards him. Leanne giggled and followed.

"We just had Fizzing Whizbees," Katie said laughing, and it was then Oliver noticed that the girls were not bouncing, but hovering in short increments.

"Yes, and that's quite enough of them," Leanne's mother admonished.

"There's supposed to be a mooncalf in our yard tonight," Leanne interjected. "My dad spotted its burrow a few weeks back."

"You're in for a real treat tonight; normally mooncalves stick to rural areas, like farms," Leanne's mother said. "You lot can watch it dance while I collect its dung for my gardens. Does wonders for my flowers and herbs." She winked.

Leanne wrinkled her nose, but Oliver laughed in delight with Katie. Katie linked an arm around each of them, and they marched outside to wait for the moon to rise.

They sat on a blanket, staring at constellations while Leanne's mother tended to her nocturnal plants.

"That one looks like a goal post," Katie yelled.

Leanne rolled her eyes and turned to Oliver.

"I'm so glad you're finally here so Katie has someone to talk about Quidditch with. I'm rubbish at it. I'd rather play with a puffskein. You can't cuddle a quaffle."

"Well I'm glad to be back," Oliver said, deciding not to mention that he used to sleep with a quaffle instead of a teddy bear.

Just then, an awkward looking creature emerged from the ground in front of them. It was grey and smooth with great bugging eyes atop its head, long legs, and large feet.

The children all stared at it as it began to lean back and forth, and hopped on its hind legs. It twitched and jumped for a quarter of an hour, and they were all transfixed in its every move. Then out of nowhere, it stopped dancing and dropped to all fours.

"What is it doing?" Leanne asked.

The mooncalf made a very clear movement as to what it was doing, and then- "Eww!"


End file.
